Thursday, July 29, 2010

Pocono Driver Chassis Selections: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

1. Kevin Harvick:Fifth-best average finish (11.4) in the five races with the COT; Equaled best finish (fourth) and led first laps (5) in 19 starts in June; Will return in the same car that he raced in June.2. Jeff Gordon:10th-best average finish (13.6) in the five races with the COT; Four-time winner; Leader in laps led with 879; 10.7 average finish in 35 starts; 32nd-place finish in June ended streak of three consecutive top 10s.3. Denny Hamlin:Ninth-best average finish (13.2) in the five races with the COT; Coming off fourth win in nine starts; Swept both races in 2006; Leads all drivers with a 8.6 average finish.4. Jimmie Johnson:Leads all drivers with a 6.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Has led 146 laps with the COT; Last of two wins came in 2004 when he swept both events; Won the pole for the 2008 August race; Has finished seventh or better on five of the last six races; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 592) that he finished 37th with at Charlotte in May.5. Kurt Busch:19.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; Finished sixth in June; Has scored one win and six top 10s in nine starts with Penske; Also won in 2005 with Roush; Has led 371 laps and posted 10 top 10s in 19 starts; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 712) that he finished 19th with at Dover in May.6. Kyle Busch:23.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Coming off best finish (second) after leading 32 laps from the pole in June; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 277) in the Sunoco Red Cross 500.7. Jeff Burton:Seventh-best average finish (12.6) in the five races with the COT; Finished seventh in June for 16th top 10 in 33 starts; Five of his top 10s have come with Richard Childress Racing; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 317) in the Sunoco Red Cross 500.8. Matt Kenseth:Sixth-best average finish (11.4) in the five races with the COT; Last of eight top 10s came in the June 2008 event in seventh; Finished 17th in June for worst finish since this event in 2005; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 644) that he finished 14th with at Michigan in June.9. Tony Stewart:Third-best average finish (10.2) in the five races with the COT; 4.7 average finish in three starts with Stewart-Haas; Won the 2009 June race in his track debut with SHR; Posted one win and 14 top 10s in previous 20 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 515) that he finished 23rd with at Darlington in May.10. Carl Edwards:Second-best average finish (8.4) in the five races with the COT; Second in laps led with the COT with 158; Last of two wins came in this event in 2008; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 639) that he finished 16th with at Charlotte in May.11. Greg Biffle:Coming off second DNF in 15 starts with a 28th-place finish; 16.4 average finish in the five races with the COT; Last of two top 10s came in the 2006 June race; Will be back in the same car (chassis No. 696) that he finished third with last weekend at Indianapolis.12. Clint Bowyer:13.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Scored best finish in nine starts last year in this event in third; Finished ninth in June for fifth top 10; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 298) that he led 59 laps with in June after starting second.13. Mark Martin:Coming off worst finish (29th) in the last 12 races after a crash; 14.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; Last top 10 in three starts with Hendrick Motorsports came in this event last year in seventh; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 550) that he led 10 laps and finished 11th with at Indianapolis last weekend.14. Dale Earnhardt Jr:Finished fourth in track debut with Rick Hendrick in first COT event at track; 18.0 average finish in five events with team; Five top fives and six top 10s in 21 starts with an average finish of 17.5; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 584) that he finished 19th with at Pocono in June.15. Ryan Newman:Eighth-best average finish (13.0) in the five races with the COT; 11.0 average finish in three starts with Stewart-Hass; Best finish with SHR came in the 2009 June race in fifth; Posted six top 10s in previous 14 starts with Penske Racing.16. Jamie McMurray:Finished 36th in first track start with Chip Ganassi since 2005; Last top-10 finish (ninth-place) came with Roush racing in second event in 2008; 21.7 average finish in 15 starts with three top-10s; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1004) that he finished 24th with at Michigan in June.17. Kasey Kahne:Won the 2008 June race from the pole after leading 69 laps; Finished fifth in this event last year after leading 35 laps; Fourth-best average finish (11.0) in the five races with the COT; Still holds track qualifying record, which was set in this event in 2004 during rookie season.18. David Reutimann:19.2 average finish in the five races with the COT; Finished third in the 2009 June race for only top 10 in seven starts.19. Joey Logano:21.0 average finish; 13th-place finish in June is best in three starts; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 278) in the Sunoco Red Cross 500.20. Martin Truex Jr:18.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Two top 10s in nine starts came with the old car; Finished 25th in June in track debut with Michael Waltrip Racing.21. AJ Allmendinger:Coming off first top 10 in six starts; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 294) that he finished 11th with at Michigan in June.22. Juan Pablo Montoya:Coming off three consecutive top 10s; Second-place finish in this event last year is best in seven starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 910) that he finished eighth with at Pocono in June.23. Paul Menard:Has yet to finish better than 15th in seven starts; Coming off best finish in 16th; Average finish is 27.4; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 653) that he finished 30th with at Darlington in May.24. David Ragan:Only top 10 in seven starts came in this event in 2008 in fifth; 23.1 average finish; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 670) that he finished seventh with in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte.25. Brad Keselowski:Finished 21st in June in track debut; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 733) in the Sunoco Red Cross 500.26. Scott Speed:25.0 average finish in three starts; Coming off best finish in 20th.27. Marcos Ambrose:23.3 average finish in three starts; Only finish inside the top 25 came in the 2009 June race in sixth.28. Elliott Sadler:21.5 average finish in 23 starts with two top 10s; Finished 25th, 24th and 31st in three starts with Richard Petty Motorsports; Will return in same car (chassis No. 283) that he finished 21st with at Bristol in June.29. Sam Hornish Jr:Best track on the circuit based on 18.6 average finish; 8.3 average finish in last three starts; Finished a NASCAR career-best fourth in this event last year.30. Regan Smith:Coming off best finish in four starts in 18th; 26.0 average finish.